


Basic hygiene and the care of your dragon

by Wapwani



Series: Dragon Queen prompt responses [8]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), dragon queen - Fandom
Genre: F/F, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-15
Updated: 2016-10-15
Packaged: 2018-08-22 12:58:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8286680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wapwani/pseuds/Wapwani
Summary: Mal and Regina reconnect, but Mal needs to pay attention to some finer details if she'd like them to connect again.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was written in response to a prompt from kuromikoneko - prompt in the endnotes, because it is a wee bit spoilery

* * *

Now that the initial exertion of carrying them into the sky was over, Mal could revel in the joy of her flight. A dragon’s natural element may be fire, but Mal had always loved the air and the freedom it brought her. After the little queen had come into her life, another dimension of pleasure had been added to flying. She had never allowed anyone to ride her, although she knew other dragons who had. She’d thought them foolish and weak to give over their power so willingly. A dragon could and should rule the skies; no human deserved a share of that dominance. But then she’d met Regina. She had at first been infuriated by Regina’s innocent eagerness, but the girl had persisted, had refused to be intimidated away, and Mal’s exasperation had been beaten down, replaced by a reluctant admiration. The admiration had grown into passionate fondness; Mal showed her affection in a way typical of a dragon - all sharp edges and glibness that grew from an enduring depth of feeling.

Mal had both feared and hoped that Regina would flee from her, because she recognised how terrifying a dragon’s love could be. But Regina had not run; the little queen had kept coming back to her, until Mal realised that she had been conquered. It hadn’t been a powerful knight or an army who had brought her to her knees. All it had taken was a young woman who was too stubborn to allow fear to rule her and apparently incapable of accepting defeat. The day Mal acknowledged how completely her heart belonged to Regina was the first time Regina flew.

Regina had loved it, had taken to the air as though she had been born to sit across Mal’s strong shoulders and conquer worlds. And Mal had delighted in Regina’s joy.

Their happiness hadn’t lasted of course. Even a dragon’s love could not protect Regina from the seed of darkness that had been planted in her heart. The forces aligned against her had been too strong, and Mal had not really understood Rumplestiltskin’s power; his motivations and magic were alien to her, too human, too bound in subterfuge and bitterness. Dragons were creatures of fire, and fire burns clean and true. Maleficent could not comprehend deceit, or how someone could hold a grudge for centuries, and how that resentment could gnaw at a person’s soul until nothing but malice was left. She tried to make Regina understand how much she was endangering herself, but she could not reach her; Regina had travelled too far along the path that Rumplestiltskin had led her down for even Mal to pull her back.

And then had come the curse, and decades trapped, and death and rebirth, and reunions; so many reunions, but most importantly with her lost child and her once love.

To her joy, Mal discovered that Regina had saved herself. She had clawed her way towards redemption; she had not quite achieved it yet, but Regina had never been one to accept defeat, and she was no different in this.

It was true that something had died between them when Regina had cast the curse and condemned Mal to the Saviour’s sword. But in this strange world that Regina had created, there was room for something new to grow. It had taken a while, but Mal knew how to be patient, and eventually Regina had forgiven herself enough to come back to the dragon. Tentative at first, and hidden behind a sarcasm and brusqueness that no dragon would find daunting, Regina allowed herself to ask for Mal’s friendship.

Regina had changed; she was no longer the wide-eyed breathless innocent who had crept into Mal’s heart and conquered it. But nor was she the woman maddened by anger and a thirst for revenge, who had crushed Mal’s love beneath her heel. Mal saw pain in her now, and fear, but also a fragile hope, and the same strength and determination that had drawn her to Regina in the first place.

It was inevitable really that their friendship would return; Mal held no grudge and Regina would not permit herself another betrayal. But Mal hoped for more than friendship. She worried for a while that Regina’s heart belonged to another. There was much talk of soulmates and true loves, all very human stories which Mal did not really understand. She knew her heart belonged to Regina, but she was not sure if Regina still wanted it, or whether Regina’s heart was still free. But sometimes she’d catch Regina looking at her, and there would be fire in her gaze, and Mal would hope. In time, Regina decided that ‘soulmate’ did not have to mean 'lover’, and Mal’s hope had burned a little brighter.

Then Regina asked her out. That had been a confusing few minutes. Mal had not understood the request; she had frowned and said “Is the temperature in this room too uncomfortable for you?” Regina had sighed, rolled her eyes, and explained, in very little detail, what she meant when she said 'I would like to go out with you’. Her explanation had included very human words like 'date’ and 'spend some time together’. Mal was still not entirely sure she understood the concept, but she recognised the look in Regina’s eye and the heightened colour in her cheeks, and so she had said “Would you like to go flying?”

Regina’s delighted smile would have been sufficient reward, but she also got the far greater prize - to return to the air with Regina.

She hadn’t flown in a while, not since Lily had mastered her wings. Mal had felt uncertain in these alien skies, unwilling to test the boundaries of the magic that sustained her; and as much as she hated to admit it, Cruella had shaken her confidence in her dragon form. So it had been some weeks since she had last transformed, and some months since she had maintained her dragon form for so long or exerted herself so much. She was distracted by the exhilaration of flight and relishing the stretch and burn of muscles too long unused, so it took her a few minutes to realise that Regina seemed in some distress. She was squirming and twitching on Mal’s back, and Mal heard her gasp. She started to turn her head, to see what the problem was, but Regina thumped on her shoulder and shouted “Down, Mal. Now!”

She needed no further instruction; she swooped to earth as quickly as safety would allow, bringing them to rest in a clearing on the wooded hillside. Regina leapt from her back before Mal could transform. By the time Mal had returned to her human form, Regina had kicked off the impractical shoes she insisted on wearing, flung her jacket from her, and was scrabbling at the buttons of her shirt. Mal could not help the frisson of awareness that went through her as Regina revealed more skin, but then her brain caught up and she noted the sounds that Regina was making. These were not sounds of pleasure or seduction. Regina sounded in pain.

“What is wrong?” Mal demanded, moving closer.

“I don’t know! It’s everywhere!” Regina snapped, unhelpfully.

By now her shirt was off, hanging around her waist like a skirt, and she was tearing at her belt and tugging the zipper of her trousers down. She paused to scratch furiously at her body, nails raking red scores under her breasts and down her arms.

“Regina! Wait!” Mal grabbed her hands before she could do any more damage to herself. Regina snarled at her, but Mal was too focused on Regina’s skin to notice. She saw the bright sparks boring into Regina’s soft flesh and groaned.

“Fire mites.”

“What?”

“Fire mites,” Mal repeated. “They are these little … insects. They..umm…well, they’re not uncommon for dragons.”

“Mites? From you?!” Her fury was strong enough to take her mind off the painful itches that covered her body.

“It’s possible.” Mal said sheepishly. Dragon hide was tough, and the mites didn’t bother them as much as they obviously did humans. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a good mud bath.”

“Mal, are you saying you have _infested_ me with mites because you have not been keeping up with basic hygiene?!”

“Possibly?” She’d not taken the dragon form for so long that she had not seen the need. She made a note to remind Lily about the necessity of regular cleansing mud baths.

“Maleficent!”

“I can take care of this!” Mal said hurriedly. “You don’t have to hurt yourself.”

Regina called her a name that Mal would have thought affectionate if it had been delivered in a slightly less incendiary tone of voice.

Unfortunately, removing fire mites from sensitive human skin involved finding each individual mite and searing it with a spark of dragonfire. Regina endured this grooming with bad grace, standing fuming in her bare feet as Mal examined her closely, seeking out each burning spot and killing the little agony-causing creature. Mal would zap the mite with dragonfire, and then brush her thumb over the spot, healing the burn with her magic. She worked methodically across Regina’s shoulders, along her arms, down her back, and back up along her legs and belly, stripping the shirt and trousers from her as she went. Around the time Mal had reached her knees, Regina’s anger had burned out, and she stood flushed and trembling under Mal’s touch. She was left wearing only her bra and underwear, frothy little twists of silk and lace that could not have been offering her much protection from the elements.

“Are you cold?” Mal asked solicitously, although she could feel how warm Regina’s skin was.

“No.” Her voice trembled and Mal hummed in sympathy.  

By the time Mal reached Regina’s flanks, it was impossible for either of them to ignore how very not uncomfortable Regina was. In fact, she was the polar opposite of uncomfortable. Her pupils had widened, darkening her eyes; her lips were parted; her nose narrowed as her breathing grew more laboured; her skin flushed ever-warmer; and if those had not been indications enough, the thin silk that covered her breasts made no secret of her arousal.

Mal’s cool blue eyes met Regina’s dark gaze, and she smiled. This was a smile from the old days. This was unhidden lust and a promise of pleasure.

Regina frowned. “What are you grinning at?”

“I’d be lying if I said that I hadn’t hoped we’d end up like this,” Mal drawled. “Although, I would not have chosen these circumstances.”

Regina glared at her. “Oh, I’m glad you would not have _chosen_ to infest me with vermin, just so you could get me naked.”

“One can hardly fault the results though,” Mal grinned impudently.

Regina spluttered and suddenly both her palms were filled with blazing fireballs. 

“I’ll show you results!” she snarled, although there was more laughter in her voice than anger. 

Mal easily ducked Regina’s throw, and the fireballs fizzled out against the ground; there hadn’t been much heat to them. Mal wrapped her arms around Regina’s waist and lifted her off her feet; Regina glared at her.

“Put me down!”

“I’ve not finished with you yet,” Mal said, her voice deepened to a growl by her own arousal. She watched the desire settle into Regina’s eyes, and her heart sang. “There may still be some mites lurking, under what’s left of your clothes.”

“Oh?”

“We should be careful.”

“Hmm,” Regina said thoughtfully. “I suppose it’s in my own best interests to be thorough about this.”

“Definitely. I shall be thorough. Yes.”

“We’re not doing this here, Mal.” She glanced around the clearing; there was nothing but a thin cover of grass and her discarded clothing littering the ground.

“I agree,” Mal said in a faux-earnest tone, “The lighting in your bedroom would be much more conducive to finding-”

Her voice broke off as Regina kissed her, laughing against her mouth.

“Take me home then, Mal. And don’t you _dare_ transform to do it!”

Mal caught herself just in time. She had been about to transform into the dragon, instinctively wanting to take to the air so she could carry her hard-won treasure back to the safety of her lair.

Instead, she transported them to Regina’s bedroom, where she spent a few very thorough hours divesting Regina of any lingering mites, and then went in search of a large amount of mud. Regina had made it very clear that there would be no further flying, or nakedness, until Mal was mite-free.

**Author's Note:**

> Miko's prompt was: Dragon Queen - “I did not mean for stripping to come out of this.”


End file.
